Exploring 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'

In the competitive summer movie season, a standout gimmick can elevate a film, especially when executed skillfully and aligned with the narrative. As the inaugural live-action feature filmed in digital 3-D, "Journey to the Center of the Earth" excels on both fronts. This modern take on Jules Verne's 1864 classic delivers a visually stunning adventure, enhanced by the immersive depth of 3-D technology.

Helmed by debut feature director Eric Brevig, whose expertise as a visual effects supervisor on films like "Pearl Harbor," "Men in Black," and "Total Recall" earned him an Oscar, "Journey" redefines the 3-D experience. Gone are the days of flimsy paper glasses with red and blue lenses. Instead, audiences are treated to lifelike scenes of flying piranhas and a T-Rex lunging and drooling perilously close as the subterranean escapade unfolds.

This fresh take on the classic story, first brought to life in a 1959 Pat Boone film and later in various TV adaptations, stars Brendan Fraser as Trevor, a seismologist and professor. Trevor's scientist brother, Max, vanished during an expedition years ago. When Max's teenage son (Josh Hutcherson) visits and presents an annotated copy of Verne's novel with clues to an Icelandic underground portal, Trevor and his nephew embark on a journey, aided by a local guide (Anita Briem).

The screenplay by Michael Weiss, Jennifer Flackett, and Mark Levin uses Verne's novel as inspiration rather than a strict blueprint. Brevig notes that while the story was groundbreaking in the 19th century, it feels outdated for modern audiences. "Half the journey was just reaching Iceland, and they spent months walking to the center of the earth. The real excitement begins underground. We preserved the essence but updated it for today," he explains.

Brevig, who joined the project as director after it shifted to 3-D, reveals that the story and characters underwent significant changes before filming commenced in Montreal in June 2006. Post-production extended over a year due to extensive CG work, with around 750 shots distributed among four visual effects studios. Despite the challenges of a tight 48-day shooting schedule, the team managed to complete the complex film. Brevig, along with actor Hutcherson and visual effects editor Ed Marsh, shares insights into the process in the following sections.

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Visual Arts

"Our goal was to showcase visuals audiences had never experienced. By leveraging advanced visual effects and computer graphics, I crafted an environment that feels entirely seamless," Brevig explains. "As the story unfolds, the adventure becomes increasingly surreal—a heightened reality reflected in the film's photography, lighting, and color palette," he elaborates.

This immersive experience is amplified in 3-D, a technique that captures images with dual cameras positioned at a 90-degree angle using mirrors. This setup allows viewers, equipped with special glasses, to perceive a single, three-dimensional image.

Brevig gathered a team skilled in 3-D and digital HD filmmaking, testing various systems before selecting the one developed by James Cameron and Vince Mason. "For most of the film, we relied on a beam splitter camera. This device uses a mirror that both reflects and transmits light," he details. "By attaching two cameras—or their lenses and optical sensors—to this rig, we adjusted the lens spacing. For intense close-ups, I needed the lenses closer than physically possible. The mirror rig simulated a 3/4-inch gap, ensuring close-up shots remained comfortable for viewers."

Brevig designed a smaller version of the camera that could be mounted on a crane, a Steadicam, or used handheld. "Remarkably, it functioned flawlessly from day one until the end of filming. We experienced only one hour of downtime throughout the entire production," he recalls. However, the 3-D format introduced additional challenges post-filming.

"Each shot required five or six more iterations than a standard film to address 3-D complexities," notes Ed Marsh. "If you meticulously perfect the 3-D effect on a small 24-inch monitor, don't be shocked when the image is projected onto a 40-foot theater screen and elements appear misaligned. Actors might seem embedded in walls, or objects appear too far in front or behind them. To avoid this, you must review footage on a large screen early and frequently," he advises.

Due to the eye's limited ability to perceive 3-D depth beyond 100 feet, the filmmakers incorporated depth cues like ropes in climbing scenes, particles and bubbles in water, and a flock of glowing birds in underground caverns to convey scale and depth. We'll delve into these and other CG innovations in "Journey" in the next section.

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Featured Creatures

"The concept of glowing birds was introduced in an earlier script before I joined the project. I envisioned them swarming, creating a magical atmosphere," explains Eric Brevig. "There are moments where they appear to fly into the theater, prompting audiences to reach out and try to catch them."

Scenes involving computer-generated elements, such as this one, were filmed against a green screen, requiring actors to interact with invisible objects added in post-production. "For the swarm scenes, I directed their gaze to a specific spot on the ceiling. For close-ups where the bird illuminates Josh, we used a stick with a light bulb," Brevig shares.

The same approach was applied to the massive albino Tyrannosaurus Rex, the carnivorous plant, and the razor-toothed flying fish that threatened the characters. For the flying fish, actors "reacted to blue Nerf footballs," Ed Marsh recalls.

Brevig shared artwork and animatics—cartoon-style previews—of all action sequences to help actors visualize the scenes. Despite this, 15-year-old Josh Hutcherson, who had prior green screen experience from "Bridge to Terabithia" and "Zathura," struggled to imagine "a massive, fearsome dinosaur when all he saw was a tiny pink dot. However, Eric did an excellent job illustrating the final vision for us," he recalls.

The dinosaur design presented unique challenges. "Opting for a bright white albino dinosaur complicated the 3-D process. They had to experiment with skin tones and textures to make it convincing, as it risked looking unfinished," Marsh explains. "They invested significant time adding dirt and scars for realism. Then there was the drool—how extreme could we make it?" he says of the T-Rex's saliva, noting Brevig aimed for subtlety, but "the studio demanded a standout 3-D moment"—and they delivered.

Regarding the enormous Venus flytrap that menaces Trevor, the sequence was approved last-minute, "so planning was rushed," Marsh admits. "We couldn't review the shots in advance. Two camera teams worked 18 hours straight, with Brendan Fraser acting against nothing, hoping post-production could salvage it. We spent ages refining the plant's appearance and movement, adjusting its behavior repeatedly.

Brevig considers the raft escape the most technically demanding scene, "because water is incredibly complex to simulate. The ocean, fish, and sea serpents are all CG, interacting with each other and the actors." Marsh adds, "In 3-D, there's no room for shortcuts. The foam on waves had to look authentic, requiring precise tracking of every element's position."

In the next section, we'll explore other challenging action sequences.

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Locations and Logistics

Aside from a few days in Iceland, "Journey" was primarily filmed on soundstages in Montreal, "which spared us from weather-related challenges," Brevig remarks. He faced the task of constructing 40 sets across four stages, "knowing we couldn't film and build simultaneously. How do you switch lighting from an orange desert to the blues and greens of a waterfall set without delaying the construction crew below?" The solution was a pre-set lighting grid controlled by a dimmer board, allowing instant changes. "This likely saved us two weeks of production time."

Given the time-intensive nature of shooting large action sequences, even with animatic blueprints as a guide, Brevig employed "two 3-D rigs to capture two shots simultaneously, increasing editorial coverage and speeding up the process. I created still frame grabs of each shot and displayed them on boards in shooting order. As we completed each sequence, we removed the corresponding frame," he explains.

The team had just one night to film an underwater scene at Montreal's Olympic Stadium pool, so "safety divers accidentally appearing in shots" was a minor concern. However, meticulous lighting preparation and the use of a digital camera that didn't require reloading enabled them to wrap up in seven hours.

Several scenes required actors to deliver lines while suspended in midair using harnesses. These were filmed against a blue screen for the free-fall sequence, except for shots where the camera looked up at them. "We positioned the actors on their sides and moved the camera sideways past them," Brevig clarifies.

A similarly practical approach was used for the waterfall scene, where the actors were placed on a 50-foot table covered in black plastic. "At night, we aimed fire hoses up the table and pulled the actors by wires attached to their feet. The camera was tilted sideways to create the illusion of a vertical drop."

Josh Hutcherson relished performing as many stunts as permitted, including rock climbing and the scene where he soars into the air on a massive kite. While he avoided injuries, Fraser wasn't as fortunate, sustaining several, such as a burned hand from being too close to an exploding magnesium flare.

"That incident occurred on the third day of filming, forcing a two-day halt. Not that I wished it on him, but it gave me 36 hours to scout locations in Iceland," Brevig remarks, adding that Fraser later injured his back. "He was on a large rig and got hit in the tailbone. He bore the brunt of the injuries, but everyone ended up with scrapes and bruises from bumping into concrete and plaster."

Despite these mishaps, "Journey" stayed well below its $70 million budget, according to Brevig, who would eagerly direct a sequel—hinting at the search for the lost city of Atlantis as a potential plot. "I'd do it in a heartbeat," Hutcherson agrees.

­For more details on this film, 3-D technology, and related topics, venture to the next page.

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